Attorney General Announces Criminal Division Leadership Changes

Published: April 20, 2011

April 19, 2011, Juneau, Alaska - Attorney General John J. Burns today announced leadership changes at the Department of Law’s Criminal Division. Sue McLean, Director of the Criminal Division, is retiring after practicing law in Alaska and New Mexico for 30 years. John Skidmore, current supervisor of the Office of Special Prosecutions, will take over McLean’s duties on May 26. Clint Campion, head of the Violent Crimes Unit in the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office, will fill Skidmore’s position as the new head of the Office of Special Prosecutions.

McLean arrived in Alaska in 1982, where she first served as an Assistant District Attorney in Kodiak. Since then, she has served as an Assistant District Attorney in Kenai and Juneau; District Attorney in Kodiak and Bethel; as head of the Rural Prosecutions unit in Anchorage; and as Director of the Criminal Division. Attorney General Burns said, “While I have only known Ms. McLean a few short months, I have been impressed by her encyclopedic knowledge of the department, her steady counsel, and the report of so many of her colleagues that she is never too busy to listen to a young attorney’s evidentiary or ethical dilemma. We will greatly miss her tireless assistance in mentoring young prosecutors to become trustworthy representatives of what is best about our profession.”

Like McLean, Skidmore brings a statewide perspective to the director’s job. In his 15 years with the department, he has lived and prosecuted cases in Bethel, Dillingham, Kenai, and Anchorage. As a career prosecutor, Skidmore has forged strong relationships with colleagues and with law enforcement professionals at the state and federal levels. His experience in Bethel and Dillingham provided him with a valuable perspective on the diverse and complex challenges associated with the statewide administration of justice. In appointing Skidmore, Attorney General Burns said, “I see a continuing need to collaborate with other justice agencies to reverse Alaska’s appalling statistics on domestic violence and sexual assault. Agencies in and out of state government must work together to promote safe and healthy communities throughout the state. John’s experience in rural Alaska and his contacts in and out of the department will serve the state well in this mission.”

Replacing Skidmore as supervisor of the Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions is Anchorage Assistant District Attorney, Clint Campion. The Office of Special Prosecutions prosecutes white collar and environmental crimes; criminal enforcement proceedings for nonpayment of child support and state taxes; welfare, insurance, Medicaid and PFD fraud; fish and game violations, and other special cases. Campion joined the Department of Law as an Assistant District Attorney in the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office in 2008. Most recently he served as the supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit. Campion spent nine years as an attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps before he joined the department. In his last military assignment, he was the chief prosecutor at Fort Richardson U.S. Army installation, near Anchorage, Alaska. “Clint has a broad background in military and civilian courts in the administration of criminal justice. His unique skills will make him a valuable addition to our leadership team,” said Attorney General Burns.

For further information, please contact Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal Division Richard Svobodny, (907) 465-3428.